​deadmau5 apologizes for offensive comments, says he is "going off the radar"

The electronic music icon says he is seeking "professional help"

Cameron Holbrook

11 October 2018

Joel Zimmerman (aka deadmau5) took to Twitter on Wednesday, October 10, to publicly apologize for making offensive comments and said he plans on going "off the radar" in order to take time and work on himself.

A video has recently surfaced of Zimmerman playing video games and making offensive comments about the EDM artist Slushii's music as it plays in the background. He describes the song as "AIDS music" and goes on to call the track "seriously autistic shit."

Slushii took to Twitter yesterday - which happened to coincide with World Mental Health Day - to admit to his fans that he is in fact on the autism spectrum and that he found the video "very disappointing."

"I’ve been bullied all my life," Slushii tweeted. "Seeing that video upsets me so much because I always looked up to deadmau5 and I don’t take having a form of autism lightly. It’s sad as such an influential member of our community you continue to use your platform to bring others down."

I’ve been bullied all my life. Seeing that video upsets me so much because I always looked up to @deadmau5 and I don’t take having a form of autism lightly. It’s sad as such an influential member of our community you continue to use your platform to bring others down.

Zimmerman took to Twitter later that night to issue his apology and admit that he is "finally addressing my own mental health challenges that I have wrestled with for the past several years."

After consulting with friends and loved ones, Zimmerman admitted that he is "in need of professional help." It is not yet clear if "going off the radar" means the electronic music maverick will be taking a step back from social media, his social life or his music career in general.